on our broadcast tonight, the showdown. president obama, mitt romney and the debate in denver everyone is talking about. breaking news about american airlines. why dozens of planes in the air tonight are being grounded when they land. out of gas. why some gas stations are shutting down in a place where prices are already over $5 a gallon. is it a hien danger of chemical of plastics and cans are of high importance to mothers and their newborns. and bird's eye view. what we look like to them. "nightly news" begins now. from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is "nbc nightly news" with brian williams. good evening. they now estimate over 67 million of us watched the debate in denver last night and what

people saw was a highly energized, motivated and combative mitt romney sharing the stage with a subdued and lackluster president obama. what they saw was mitt romney on his way over the course of 90 minutes to scoring a clear and consensus victory in what will be the first of three meetings. between these two men. for romney, today felt like a new chapter. here's a look at the crowd waiting for him tonight in virginia. while the president today said some things he was expected to say on that stage last night. we begin our coverage with nbc's andrea mitchell. andrea, good evening. >> good evening, brian. the president showed up today armed with attack lines against mitt romney a day late. trying to regain his footing after a rocky debate performance, the president today at an outdoor rally seemed everything he was not last night. >> the man on stage last night, he does not want to be held

accountable for the real mitt romney's decisions and what he's been saying for the last year. >> mitt romney was greeted with thunderous applause this morning. at a speech to conservatives. >> last night, i thought was a great opportunity for the american people to see very different visions for the county >> the morning after, even supporters said the president seemed tentative, defensive, frequently looking down at his notes perhaps like some of his predecessors in debate, ford, carter, bush and bush. almost too accustomed to the oval office. not used to being challenged. most surprising, the president did not use some of his most potent attack lines. mitt romney's comments to we will thee contributors that 47% of the country don't pay federal income taxes or are dependent on the federal government. or romney's position on women's health issues. the president's surrogates tried to shift the subject to romney. >> romney says he's going to cut loopholes, but won't name them. romney said i'm going to place obamacare but won't say with what. >> romney clearly came to play,

aggressive but polite. standing toe to toe with the with the. there were plenty of fireworks. >> you're entitled as a president to own your own airplane and house, but not facts. >> now, governor romney's proposal that he's been promoting for 18 months calls for a $5 trillion tax cut on top of $2 trillion of additional spending for our military. >> i don't have a tax cut scale that you're talking about. my view is that we ought to provide tax relief to people in the middle class, but i'm not going to reduce the share of taxes paid by high income people. >> however, independent fact checkers say romney's tax plan does add up to nearly $5 trillion over ten years and would give the biggest breaks to the highest earners. the same groups say the president is using fuzzy math. especially his claim of $4 trillion of deficit reduction. romney made a point he'd cut the budget for pbs, even to the and moderator, jim lehrer from pbs.

>> i like pbs, big bird, you, too, but i'm not going to keep on spending money. >> i want to make sure i got this straight. he'll get rid of regulations on wall street, but he's going to crack down on sesame street. >> the debate was civil. but today a key romney surrogate said this. >> what people saw last night was a president that revealed his incompetencies, how lazy and detached he is. >> did you really mean to call barack obama lazy? >> he didn't want to prepare for this debate. he's lazy and disengaged. >> now, the pressure is on paul ryan and joe biden in a debate next week. >> i don't want to say anything in the debate that's not completely accurate. >> and the stakes are a lot higher for the president to come up with a different game plan for his next debate with mitt romney two weeks from now. brian? >> andrea mitchell remains in denver tonight. thanks. and, of course, thanks to social media, getting reaction to a debate isn't a morning-after thing anymore. it's a real time thing and the talk about the event in denver

is still going on tonight. that part of our story from nbc's john yang. >> the right answer for government is to say how do we make the private sector become more efficient? >> reporter: even before they finished talking, another debate was raging online. the twitter world exploded. conservative journalist byron york, an absolutely one-sided debate. big, big win for romney. liberal comedian, bill maher. i can't believe i'm saying this, but obama looks like he does need a telepromter. analyst stu rothenberg. what happened to obama? the president didn't seem prepared. it continued on the airwaves. >> i don't know what he was doing out there. he had his head down, he was enduring the debate. rather than fighting it. >> romney supporters celebrated. >> this was awesome, from start to finish. particularly measured against fears and expectation. >> reporter: after enduring weeks of headlines about gaffes, romney woke up to read he had been declared a debate winner. the obama campaign struggled to explain.

>> so, you're perfectly happy with his demeanor and energy level tonight? >> what i'm happy with is the path he wants to lead this country on. >> hello, colorado! >> reporter: even while cheering the president at a denver rally today, his supporters seemed puzzled by his debate performance. >> i didn't know quite what was going on as far as maybe he's dealing with some crisis in the middle east. >> reporter: in battleground states like colorado and ohio, undecided voters nbc news gathered to watch the debate say they saw something new in the republican nominees. >> governor romney just sort of stepped up in terms of being something new to this campaign. >> it did change the way i thought about him. i liked him better. >> reporter: it was the most heavily tweeted item in history. more than 10 million messages. even big bird was a hot topic. this parody account went viral. if mitt romney wins, this is what i'll be forced to do. this tidal wave of real time commentary on social media is just another uncontrollable

factor that campaigns struggle to deal with as they try to get their messages out. brian? >> john yang sampling the the reaction in chicago and elsewhere. john, thanks. peter alexander is in fischerville, virginia tonight. our chief white house correspondent, chuck todd, traveling with the president in madison, wisconsin and peter, we'll begin with you. what was it like on the road today? >> well, after a brief pause for prayer here, this is going to be a party-like atmosphere. they are trying to build on the momentum from last night. a country music band will be performing here and mitt romney will be joined by his running mate, paul ryan. let's give a sense of what it was like on the plane as we flew out here on the way out today. we saw mitt romney as loose and as relaxed as we have seen him all campaign. he was all smiles and laughter, joking with his advisers in the front cabin. at one point, the captain came on and said that the denver control tower has congratulated the governor.

that of course was met by applause with all the folks sitting by the governor. a top adviser told me the campaign is in a really good mood, but they're going out of their way not to be gloating. one other story from last night, when top supporters and donors were in romney's hotel after the debate for dinner, senator rob portman came by. he was met by applause. as one told us, portman played a better president obama than the president did himself. >> peter alexander traveling with the romney campaign. back over to chuck todd. chuck, same question to you having seen that bizarre development of people in the crowd at an obama rally wondering what was going on last night. >> reporter: yeah, that was unbelievable. it's safe to say the swagger and overconfidence is gone and i would call it anxiety for them today. this is the way the obama campaign tried to react. number one, they put out the first tv ad calling mitt romney dishonest. david plouffe, the senior

strategist for the campaign and, of course, inside the white house, used the word "dishonest" or not being honest nearly a dozen times when briefing reporters this afternoon. so they're trying to put the focus on mitt romney and saying hey, he gave a great performance, but wasn't exactly honest. we'll see. it was rally therapy out here though, brian. he did have 30,000 people show up in madison. >> chuck todd, peter alexander with the view from the trail, wrapping it up for us tonight. gentlemen, thanks. we have two big and still developing stories tonight having to do with how we all get around. on the east coast and the west, beginning with new troubles for american airlines. and for that, we want to go to tom costello. in our d.c. bureau. tom? >> reporter: hi, brian. american airlines is tonight saying it is going to ground all 48 of the suspect 757s that had those seats that were coming disconnected. many of them are in the air right now. they will be grounded as soon as they land. the airline says its mechanics now believe they've discovered the real problem that caused some seats to become disconnected from the floor. something called the seat rock

plunger mechanism wasn't properly holding the seats down. it was just last night american said it had finished inspecting all 48 planes and returned them to service. now, they're coming back out of service. to make some adjustment. this will mean some delays and cancellations as the airline accommodates customers. american hopes to have the repairs completed by this weekend. brian? >> imagine their surprise when all those customers and aircraft land tonight. tom costello in our d.c. newsroom. now out to california. of course, the driving capital of the world where the problem concerns gasoline. both where to buy it and what you'll pay for it. nbc's kristen dahlgren, good evening. >> reporter: take a look. 5.69 for unleaded. so much, they actually had to put signs on the pumps apologizing to customers and saying it's not our fault. this is normally the time of year when we see gas prices drop.

but while californians slept last night, prices went up an average of eight currents a gallon and experts say they're still climbing. they're calling it the highest single day increase in history. it comes down to refinery and supply chain problems. it started with the the fire at the richmond refinery in august. there was also a power failure at an exxonmobil refinery in southern california this week. and a pipeline shut town that further cut supplies so much that some gas stations ran out of gas including a costco near los angeles. some station owners say they're thinking of shutting down completely. they say it's too difficult to sell at these prices. >> kristen dahlgren in southern california. thanks. and late news about u.s. border patrol agent killed earlier this week along the arizona/mexico border. nbc's mark potter is in sierra vista, arizona tonight where agent nicholas ivy lived with his family. good evening. >> reporter: good evening to you, brian.

federal investigators tell nbc news that based on evidence they've found so far, they are looking into whether this shooting may have been a friendly fire incident. agents shooting at each other. agent nicholas ivy of the border control was shot and killed early tuesday morning while responding to desert sensors that track illegal movement across the border. two other agents were with him. one was wounded. they had reported being fired upon earlier. about five miles north of the border near naco, arizona. officials blamed the shootings on armed criminals and mexican authorities say they have made two arrests related to the case. while u.s. investigators say they have reached no conclusions and still have a lot of work to do, they cannot rule out the possibility this was a friendly fire. brian? >> mark potter with this late development out of arizona tonight, thanks. overseas this evening, we've learned that after weeks of waiting for access, the fbi has now come and gone from benghazi in the last 24 hours

investigating that attack on the u.s. consulate that killed our ambassador to libya and three other americans. u.s. military provided back-up to the fbi team on the ground. what happened there, who may be responsible and what the obama administration has said about it is a growing issue in the presidential campaign. and after a syrian shell landed in turkey on wednesday killing five women on impact and then turkey fired back, the turkish parliament today approved possible broader military action against syria. this is one to watch. turkey says this is not a declaration of war, but a warning that turkey will defend itself. syria has now apologized notably, but this incident has raised grounded fears of a wider war. our eamon mowadean is on the ground tonight in turkey.

we've put some of his reporting on our website tonight. still ahead as we continue, new research this evening about a chemical we all come in contact with that has raised questions before. this time, the concern is about mothers and their babies. and later, an extraordinary view of the world like we've never seen it before.

in health news, as promised, the suggest's been getting a lot of attention lately. a chemical in plastics called bpa and concerns now how it could cause health problems.

now, a possible new study finding, a possible cause for concern for moms and their newborns, especially boys. a report from our chief science correspondent, robert bazell. >> reporter: jenna, like many moms, worries about producting her young kids from chemical contamination. especially the effects of the the chemical, bpa, found in plastics. >> i'm avoiding plastic in general. we try to drink out of glass. all of our water bottles, we take away with us, are reuseable. they're glass or metal. >> reporter: a new study suggests that moms may be passing along effects of bpa to their kids. in a study of 500 pregnant women, those with the highest levels of bpa have lower thyroid levels. and so did their infant sons. why only boys? scientists aren't sure. but they see the same thing in animal studies. thyroid hormones help control many systems in the body and can

affect childhood development. >> if bpa is affecting the levels during pregnancy, this could be affecting the learning, memory and behavior of children later in life. >> reporter: bpa is part of many widely used plastic products. including can liners in certain bottles. most americans have trace amounts in their body. while there have been many studies that bpa in animals, this is the first to show an effect on hormones. in pregnant women, and their newborns. in a statement, the american chemistry council said the speculation that bpa is linked to health effects caused by hormone thyroid levels in newborns is not supported by the data. the authors themselves now that the levels reported were within normal range. >> the baby boys was associated with bpa, but not the baby girls. >> reporter: the scientists agree the results are preliminary and are now looking to see if the kind of changes they've seen have any effect on the children as they grow older. robert bazell, nbc news, berkeley.

and up next here tonight, a sure sign that winter can't be far away.

this happens in october. there are places this this week will see a 40-degree drop in temperatures and in fargo and grand forks, they're dealing with the first snow of the season. some folks in montana woke up to half a foot of it this morning. meantime, temperatures will reach the 80s in some spots up and down the east coast this week. we'll remind you as the day gets closer so you can stock up on snacks and beverages, but a comet is coming. arriving in november, 2013. it could potentially be 15 times brighter than the moon and visible in broad daylight over the u.s. we will be your comet headquarters. we'll keep you updated. miguel cabrera is going into the baseball history books for an accomplishment that alluded

babe ruth, joe dimaggio and willie mays. last night, won the triple crown, home runs, batting average and rbis for the tigers. last player to do this was carl yastemski back in 1967. one of his teammates said it was just starting to sink in in the clubhouse. it was probably the greatest thing he would see in his career. next, if you've ever wished you could take wing, we've got a great story for you tonight.

finally tonight, since our first days on earth, we've sat on lawns and benches and beaches and looked skyward and wondered what it must be like to be up there and while we long ago learned how to fly ourselves with the help of engines and alloys and electronics sitting in seats that ideally bolted to the floor, knowing what a bird's life is like, what the world must like look to them has eluded us tonight until now. our report tonight from nbc's ann thompson. >> reporter: it is a wish as old as time. for man to soar like a bird. so see the world as they do. >> our cameras reveal how hard

and fast the snow goose has to flap to stay aloft. >> reporter: in "winged planet," a new documentary by john downer, we get as close as we've ever come. >> the story we set out to tell was a bird's eye view of the continent, but i think it told a lot more of that. you understand the world is much more interconnected than you think. >> where did they take you that you didn't expect? >> we'd heard about this incredible thing, where these huge rays, these fish, jump out of the sea and fly. they've never been captured on film. >> reporter: until they followed the brown pelicans to mexico's sea of cortez. for every minute of the show, airing on discovery saturday night, there are ten hours of film that didn't make air. >> i think anything that can fly that is mechanical, manmade, put a camera on it. but we also made miniature cameras birds could carry. >> reporter: four years in the

making, they hand raised snow geese and a vulture to fly with cameras for this film. >> how did they keep it on? how did you get them to keep it on? >> we basically developed harnesses and the way it was so carefully positioned, it didn't disturb their flight. >> reporter: he also used spy cameras. hidden in mud or behind faux flamingos. it took more than 100 days of shooting to get this spectacular scene. using human ingenuity to give this long dreamt-of perspective in all its wonder. anne thompson, nbc news, new york. >> spectacular. that's our broadcast on a thursday night. thank you for being here with us and please don't forget "rock center" tonight at 10:00 eastern, 9:00 central. it includes matt lauer's big interview with facebook founder mark zuckerberg. i'm brian williams. we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night.

right now at 6:00, crime is on the rise across the bay area. one local city is teetering on the edge. is the answer a federal takeover? plus, they're the team everyone's talking about. the oakland as' historic comeback. we'll talk to the man who literally wrote the book on the as, "money ball." good evening, and thanks for joining us, i'm jessica aguirre. >> i'm raj mathai. two of the bay area's three major cities are plagued with problems in their police departments. san jose is searching for a new chief, while tonight in oakland, civil ts